Relationships between river sediment characteristics and trace metal concentrations in tubificid worms and chironomid larvae

Surficial sediments, midge larvae (Chironomidae, Diptera) and tubificid worms (Tubificidae, Oligochaeta) were collected at 65 sampling sites located in four different river basins in Flanders (Belgium). Concentrations of the trace metals Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were measured in organisms and sediments by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Sediments were subjected to a simultaneous extraction scheme to identify trace metal partitioning among various geochemical phases. Three geochemical characteristics of the sediment were analysed; Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Fe oxides and Mn oxides. Non-linear regression models were constructed to determine the relative importance of the different sediment factors contributing to the variation in metal accumulation by the tubificid worms and chironomids. Generally, the amount of variation that could be explained by these models was limited, with coefficients of determination ranging from 0.05 to 0.66. In most cases, metal levels in organisms were positively related to the easily reducible and reducible metal fractions, and negatively related to the TOC and Fe sediment content. The correlations between metal concentrations in tubificid worms and chrinomid larvae were also rather poor, with coefficients of determinations ranging from 0.01 to 0.52. This indicates that understanding the chemistry of the environment does not suffice to predict the concentrations in organisms. Differences in the structural and functional organisation of the organisms, which among others determine the route of exposure, are at least equally important causes of variability in metal availability and accumulation. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.